Rejaul Karim Byron

The World Bank (WB) has described regulatory burdens in Bangladesh as a tax on time and investment, saying they are holding back investment compared with peer economies.

Bangladesh has so far avoided a public debt default, but clear warning signs demand immediate and strategic action to safeguard the country’s fiscal sustainability, according to the latest outlook by the Asian Development Bank.

The budget for 2026-27 fiscal year is likely to exceed the Tk 9,00,000 crore mark, as the government moves to fulfil its electoral pledges, partially implement recommendations to raise salaries of its employees, and shield the economy from the fallout of the ongoing Middle East conflict.

The US-Israel war on Iran is casting a long shadow over Bangladesh’s economy, threatening to slow growth, stoke inflation, deepen poverty, cut jobs, and raise debt burdens, according to the World Bank’s latest Bangladesh Development Update.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has sought the backing of UN Secretary-General António Guterres for a deferral of Bangladesh’s graduation from the least-developed country (LDC) category, as the issue moves through the multilateral system.

The new Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, yesterday scrapped one development project and sent back another, which is located in the PM’s home district of Bogura, for cost review.

The country’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025-26 as a sharp fall in industrial activity dragged down overall output, according to provisional data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

The top 20 loan defaulters account for 63 percent of the defaulted loans in six state-owned banks, prompting the government to order specific roadmaps for recovery.

The social welfare ministry has sought Tk 14,179 crore in the next budget to implement five programmes outlined in the BNP’s electoral manifesto, including an expansion of the Family Card scheme and housing for floating and displaced people living in Dhaka’s slums.

Bangladesh authorities are seeking to establish legal agreements with nine countries and one territory, which have been identified as the primary destinations for laundered money, as part of efforts to recover illicit funds transferred abroad.

Around 21,000 farmers in 11 upazilas across the country will receive “Farmers’ Cards” through Sonali Bank in the pre-pilot phase of the new government scheme, according to finance ministry sources.

Economists have urged the government to adopt a conservative approach in preparing the upcoming budget for the next fiscal year, taking into consideration the impact of the US-Israel war on Iran, implementing electoral pledges, and boosting investment.

Bangladesh lost an estimated $68 billion in illicit financial outflows over a decade between 2013 and 2022, placing it among the top 10 developing Asian countries for discrepancies in their trade with advanced economies.

An opportunity has emerged for Bangladesh to tap as much as $1.6 billion in Asian Development Bank (ADB) financing through a mix of new and ongoing support programmes.

Bangladesh will import two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes from the spot market at prices lower than its recent purchases, as global fuel rates ease amid diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the US-Israel war on Iran.

Unemployed youth are finding an unlikely ally in the soil -- turning, once more, to agriculture for survival.

In a bid to secure supply, the government has confirmed the purchase of seven LNG cargoes from the spot market since the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran

Bangladesh could receive a $1.3 billion tranche from its loan programme with the International Monetary Fund by June if the new government moves ahead with reforms to make the dollar exchange rate more market-based, strengthen revenue collection, reduce subsidies, and address weaknesses in the banking sector.

The government has formed a high-powered cabinet committee to draw up a crisis management plan, aiming to safeguard economic stability amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.

Some Tk 39 crore has been set aside from the block allocation from this fiscal year’s revised budget, a finance ministry official told The Daily Star.